Department of Pediatrics, Susan B. Meister Child Health Evaluation and Research Center, Medical School, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
Telemed J E Health. 2024 Jun;30(7):e1971-e1979. doi: 10.1089/tmj.2023.0422. Epub 2024 Apr 11.
Telehealth can be defined as using remote technologies to provide health care. It may increase access to care among people with sickle cell disease (SCD). This study examined (1) telehealth use, (2) characteristics of telehealth use, and (3) differences between telehealth users and nonusers among people with SCD during the COVID-19 pandemic. This was a retrospective analysis of Medicaid claims among four states [California (CA), Georgia (GA), Michigan (MI), Tennessee (TN)] participating in the Sickle Cell Data Collection program. Study participants were individuals ≥1 year old with SCD enrolled in Medicaid September 2019-December 2020. Telehealth encounters during the pandemic were characterized by provider specialty. Health care utilization was compared between those who did (users) and did not (nonusers) use telehealth, stratified by before and during the pandemic. A total of 8,681 individuals with SCD (1,638 CA; 3,612 GA; 1,880 MI; and 1,551 TN) were included. The proportion of individuals with SCD that accessed telehealth during the pandemic varied across states from 29% in TN to 80% in CA. During the pandemic, there was a total of 21,632 telehealth encounters across 3,647 users. In two states (MI and GA), over a third of telehealth encounters were with behavioral health providers. Telehealth users had a higher average number of health care encounters during the pandemic: emergency department (pooled mean = 2.6 for users vs. 1.5 for nonusers), inpatient (1.2 for users vs. 0.6 for nonusers), and outpatient encounters (6.0 for users vs. 3.3 for nonusers). Telehealth was frequently used at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic by people with SCD. Future research should focus on the context, facilitators, and barriers of its implementation in this population.
远程医疗可以定义为使用远程技术提供医疗保健。它可以增加镰状细胞病(SCD)患者获得医疗的机会。本研究检查了(1)远程医疗的使用情况,(2)远程医疗使用的特征,以及(3)在 COVID-19 大流行期间 SCD 患者中远程医疗使用者与非使用者之间的差异。这是对参与镰状细胞数据收集计划的四个州(加利福尼亚州(CA)、佐治亚州(GA)、密歇根州(MI)和田纳西州(TN))的医疗补助索赔进行的回顾性分析。研究参与者为 2019 年 9 月至 2020 年 12 月期间参加医疗补助计划的年龄在 1 岁以上的 SCD 患者。大流行期间的远程医疗服务由提供者的专业来描述。根据大流行前和大流行期间,将使用和不使用远程医疗的患者的医疗保健利用情况进行了比较。共有 8681 名 SCD 患者(1638 名 CA 患者;3612 名 GA 患者;1880 名 MI 患者和 1551 名 TN 患者)被纳入。在大流行期间,SCD 患者使用远程医疗的比例因州而异,从 TN 的 29%到 CA 的 80%不等。在大流行期间,共有 3647 名使用者进行了 21632 次远程医疗服务。在两个州(MI 和 GA)中,超过三分之一的远程医疗服务是由行为健康提供者提供的。远程医疗使用者在大流行期间的医疗保健就诊次数更多:急诊(用户的平均就诊次数为 2.6,而非用户为 1.5)、住院(用户为 1.2,而非用户为 0.6)和门诊就诊(用户为 6.0,而非用户为 3.3)。SCD 患者在 COVID-19 大流行初期经常使用远程医疗。未来的研究应重点关注其在该人群中的实施背景、促进因素和障碍。